The Tellerico Trail

By Rachel, Cleo and Maeve

Introduction

(Rachel)

The Tellerico trail is a beautiful hike in the bookliffs of Mesa County. It is a challenging, uphill march, but very rewarding! There are great views from the cliffs at the top of all the switchbacks. Also, there are a few abandoned mine shafts at the bottom, and there are some excellent views from the mountainside near the top. The top is very different from the rest of the hike, since there are several Juniper trees and it is completely flat.

There is little wild life on this trail, but this wildlife includes beautiful wild horses! Unfortunately, we did not see any of these horses, but we saw evidence of their existence, such as hoof prints and fresh poop.

To access the trail, you must drive North down 25 road into the desert. In the desert, continue straight on the dirt road (the road is bumpy- drive a truck!) Eventually, you will come to a dirt parking lot. Park here, and continue walking down the dirt road into the space between the mountains. After about a quarter of a mile, you will reach the trailhead. The trail is flat for less then a quarter of a mile, and then all uphill! The only breaks on the way up are the landings at the numerous switchbacks.

The hike is a total of two miles up and back, and takes approximately one and a half hours up, and and hour coming back.

Rock Layers and History

(Rachel)

1. Bottom: Mancos Shale

• Late Cretaceous
• Remains of seaway that covered Colorado and some adjacent states
• 1200 meters thick (in Grand Junction) sediment compacted into hard shale
• (Ocean water was only 200 meters deep)

2. Top: Mesaverde Group

• Late Cretaceous
• Cliff forming, layered sandstone
• Deposited in Lagoons, bays, other near-shore regimes
• Contains bituminous coal

Photo Tour and Take Along Notes(Maeve)These are some of the pictures of interesting geologic formations we found on our hike. We do not pretend to be experts in geology, but this is our contribution of things we thought were cool for you to look at.

Stop #1:

A great view of a rock outcropping from the bottom of the trail. The rock layers are (from top to bottom): Mancos Shale, Mesaverde Group Sandstone, Wasatch Formation.
Stop #2:

A really cool whole in a rock made of (presumably) sandstone, near the bottom of the trail. 5898 feet Stop #3Weathering and erosion shaped this rock into steps leading up to the trail-head. 5898 feet
Stop #4:This is a brick-like formation of sandstone (we didn’t notice it until we started looking for pictures, and we said “Hey, what about this cool thing that we’re standing on?” 5898 feet


This is a crumbly bit of rock that we assume to be sandstone and shale or coal. 6048 feet
Stop #5This photograph gives a good view of the rock layers and types that occur in this area. 5898 feet
Stop #6
Way cool weathering and erosion going on here! 6151 feet

Stop #7Coal dust. 5775 feet

Stop #8This shows cool layers of sand (and a really HUGE hill) good luck! 6659 feet

Stop #9This is a wash of rocks at the bottom of the photo, and toward the top back, you can see a whitish layer of rock. 6762 feet

Stop #10These are a pretty awesome-looking grouping of brick like sandstones! 5898 feet

Stop #11Another dusting of orange sand on the path. 6597 feet

Stop #12This may not look very interesting, but the sand at the top is thinner and finer at the top.

Google Earth Tour

(Cleo)

Tellerico Google Earth Tour.kmz

• Details
• Download
• 4 KB

Map

(Cleo)

Map

• Details
• Download
• 2 MB



WARNINGS AND ADVICE!

(Rachel and Maeve)

• Never eat your lunch near the edge of the cliff if you value your lunch containment units. Thermos lids have been known to roll of the edge of the cliff and never be seen again!
• Always hike with a buddy! Prefereably, one who has a lot of energy and who can pull you up the steep hills when you are tired. We call this the "train method" as it works with only one "engine" and multiple tired "boxcars."
• Although it may get very cold and snowy, and you will feel as though you have hiked for thousands of miles, you are not, in fact, in Canada.
• This hike will anger you, so it's good to bring something to punch or throw over the edge.
• Don't eat the following items while on the trail:
  • Horse poop (yes, this actually happened... it may be simply digested grass but it will not leave you with a smile on your face)
  • Tree sap (it does not taste like bubble gum!)
• Do not, under ANY circumstances throw your hiking buddy off the mountain! This will result in several consequences, the least of which are jail time, lawsuits, threats on your life, and extreme feelings of guilt and remorse! [You are expected to pay for the funeral if you kill your hiking buddy.]
• at&t phones get service on the trail, we are not sure about any other providers, but you are likely to get about one to four bars.